Coraline Movie Poster Image

Coraline

age 9+
(i)

 

Cool but creepy animated fantasy too scary for young kids.
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  • Review Date: July 20, 2009
  • Rated: PG
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Release Year: 2009
  • Running Time: 100 minutes

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Coraline ultimately learns that sometimes imperfect, messy lives aren't as bad as they seem. She realizes that her imperfect real parents are better than perfect-seeming fake ones, and her parents realize that they don't spend enough time with their daughter.

Positive role models

Coraline's parents start out being impatient with and dismissive of her (and generally don't seem to enjoy having her around), but their perspective and behavior changes by the end of the movie. Coraline herself is spunky, brave, and resourceful, though she, too, has important lessons to learn about appreciating family. The Other Mother wants Coraline to behave a certain way and pursues her goals at any cost. Multi-generational friendships are formed.

Violence

The movie has a dark, creepy tone overall, and the Other Mother becomes witch-like and frightening. It's implied that she has more or less killed three other children. Some of her minions try to "get" Coraline and the Cat, but they don't succeed.

Sex

Nothing directly sexual, but the two very buxom elderly actresses wear barely-there costumes for their performance (one in a reference to Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus painting).

Language

Infrequent use of words like "crap" and "oh my God" and insults including "jerkwad," "idiot," "evil witch," and "stupid."

Consumerism
Not applicable
Drinking, drugs, & smoking

None, even though Coraline's mother thinks Mr. Bobinksy is a drunk.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie will scare young kids. Slightly less creepy than the book on which it was based, the movie is still quite dark, and the "other" world that Coraline discovers turns into a frightening, dangerous place where she could very well die (and other ghost children already have). Your young kids may be interested in seeing the movie thanks to the massive marketing campaign, but this isn't an age-appropriate pick for them. This movie deals with mature themes -- being careful what you wish for, thinking the grass is always greener, and being disappointed in your parents -- that are best suited for tweens and up. Language is mostly insults (like "jerkwad" and "idiot"), and sexuality is limited to two scantily dressed elderly actresses in one memorable scene.

What's the story?

Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is an only child who's unhappy about moving to a new house with her self-absorbed parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman), who are too busy working to spend any time with her. The other inhabitants of their building are an eccentric crew: Russian mouse-circus ringmaster Mr. Bobinksy (Ian McShane) and bickering actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible (Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French), who are about six decades past their prime. When Coraline (never CARoline) opens a small hidden door in her apartment, she discovers a secret passageway to a parallel other world where everything -- her parents, her house, her neighbors, her magical garden -- seems way better ... or is it? Eventually, Coraline's dream world reveals itself to be a frightening, perilous place.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

In CORALINE, director Henry Selick, a stop-motion master best known for The Nightmare Before Christmas, creates a magical, colorful nether-world that's also dark and disturbing. At first, in addition to offering Coraline attentive "Other" parents, the alternate universe boasts a dazzling garden and a fantastic circus and theater acts, courtesy of the Other neighbors. Coraline, along with the audience, gets swept into the magic -- but there's an unnerving edge to all of the perfection. Everyone has buttons for eyes, except for Coraline and a mysterious talking cat (Keith David) that warns Coraline that her Other Mother isn't as warm and loving as she seems.

The 3-D effects (Coraline is Hollywood's first 3-D stop-motion film) are cool without being overwhelming, and the story is a two-pronged cautionary tale -- for parents and kids not to take each other for granted, and for people not to dwell on whether the grass is greener, because it could all be a huge, horrifying charade. Coraline ultimately learns that sometimes imperfect, messy lives aren't always as bad as they seem. Considering how formulaic so many family movies are , Coraline is a refreshing and inventive film. While too intense for some tots, it's a memorable treat for families with thrill-seeking tweens and up.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about the story's theme of wishing for a different, "better" life. Kids: Do you ever feel like Coraline? What about her parents made her initially prefer the Other Mother and Father? 

  • How do both Coraline and her parents change over the course of the movie? 

  • Do you think this movie is meant for little kids, or is it too scary?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:February 6, 2009
DVD release date:July 21, 2009
Cast:Dakota Fanning, John Hodgman, Teri Hatcher
Director:Henry Selick
Studio:Focus Features
Genre:Fantasy
Topics:Magic and fantasy, Book characters, Great girl role models
Character strengths:Gratitude, Self-control
Run time:100 minutes
MPAA rating:PG
MPAA explanation:thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor

This review of Coraline was written by

Sandie Angulo Chen
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

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Parent of a 6 and 6 year old Written byandsoitgoes June 9, 2011
age 7+

Coraline - Not a movie for everyone, but a unique gem in a sea of same-old-same-old films.

First, this movie was one that almost completely turned me off of CommonSenseMedia as a whole. Seeing the completely close-minded parent reviews about this movie shamed me as a parent, knowing that these people were my peers. Corline is a movie that's not for evveryone. Yes, it's scary. Yes, the issues discussed aren't happy and cuddly like most Disney fare. No, Coraline is not likeable all the way through. The very first thing I would like to address is the constant talk about the 2 old ladies who dance for Coraline. People have lauded the way that French and Saunders (Miss Spink and Forcible) dressed for this dance. They stated that "Her boobies were too big and exposed!". I'm sorry, but people that take severe issue to this need to rethink how they discuss the human body with their children. Yes, they are dressed in scantily clad outfits, but it is not with sexual overtones. It's how many public performers dressed in the era that they were representing. Yes, she has larger than normal breasts, yes they "bounce", but these things are done in a light-hearted manner. So if that description disgusts you, then Coraline isn't for you. The overtones in this movie are serious and grave, as they are in the book. For most children, ages 7 and up (possibly 9 or older) are best suited for the film. If you spend any time looking at what the story is about, you'll understand it's not going to be a fluff film. Coraline is a girl who is not happy with her parents or what she has in life. She's presented with what looks to be an amazing life from her "Other Mother", and she's thrilled - Until she realizes that her "Other Mother" is trying to steal her soul, as she's done with other Children. Coraline has to take a long look at herself, through the help of others, to recognize that her parents are fantastic, that they love her and that she loves them, and never wants them to go. These are character struggles many children go through, especially when their parents, like Coraline, have moments in their life in which they are too busy, or have to do unpopular things such as moving away from friends, school, etc. Coraline acts out, and the entire story comes full circle, Coraline atones for her actions and, something that is handled better in the book, truly is changed from the person she was. Do not go into this movie with an expectation that it's a fun fluff piece. As I mentioned, it's a serious, grave movie that deals with scary villains and is, to be honest, a "horror movie" for little kids. Coraline sometimes uses words to hurt her friends because of her frustration and initial narrow mind, but this is necessary to show her growth throughout. We, as parents, owe it to our children to screen movies like this before showing them to our children. It's clear that parents who blindly took their 4, 5 or 6 year olds to go see this were not doing their job. 10 minutes on this site or on reading a detailed description would have saved them an immense amount of grief. And seeing the responses here from parents simply, as I've said already, makes me ashamed. The same parents who are fine with Nightmare Before Christmas blast this movie for having poor values and that it's too scary. Well, guess what people - The little kids in Nightmare Before Christmas walked around singing a song about how they wanted to kill Sandy Claws, Oogie Boogie fights Jack at the end using multiple types of guns, and Sally poisons the person who is holding her hostage. You're telling me that you're totally fine with that, but not this? And how do parents posting her expect anyone to take them seriously? I see better grammar and sentence structure from child reviewers! It's a shame to see parents pour their thoughts into posts where, if graded by a teacher, would get a failing grade. If you can't coherently explain your feelings and thoughts, don't post at all. It does you no benefit other than making you look more foolish. That goes for people applauding this movie in the same way. When you post her, you need to post her as an adult, with an objective and OPEN mind. Anyone that doesn't should be ashamed of themselves.
What other families should know
Great messages
Great role models
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Parent of a 4, 6, and 8 year old Written by3girlsmom March 26, 2009
age 13+

Very disappointed

I regret not reading reviews before seeing this with my children. From the advertising, I thought it'd be ok for kids and didn't look very scary. I was so wrong. Some helpful reviews if you haven't seen it are from: missbunhead, ParkerH, peony,and AmyB. I'd recommend reading these because they give good details of the iffy aspects of the movie and explain some of the reasons why other people said what they did. I, personally, hated it. The first half was dark, slow, and left you wondering what in the world the story was about. It leads to intense and disturbing scenes that can be very difficult for some to see or hear. I should have left with my 2 younger ones,(4.8 and 6.5), but stayed because my husband and 8y/o daughter didn't see how it was too scary. I would compare it to The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock. It was well done, had good animation, and had an unusual storyline. I guess I can say that about it. I just don't like scary movies, period. I'd rather see films that make me feel good afterward and leave me thinking that yes, there is good in the world. I'm a bit more sensitive and so are my children(I'll admit that). They are very sweet, kind, loving kids, and I think if this describes your child then don't take them. I wish I wouldn't have seen it, but as I said earlier, my husband thought it was fine. The parts that disappointed me the most were: the old lady with massive, bouncing breasts having tiny stars covering her nipples and wearing a nearly unseen thong because her fat almost covered it all; the immense intensity of the creepy, scary scenes (which is nearly the whole movie); the thought of having buttons sewn on your(the girl's) eyes and on the mouth(the boy); the ghost children who lost their souls to the evil spiderwoman who had sewn buttons on their eyes; the swear word, and the thought that your parents might not be real and will eventually betray and abuse you. My 4&6 yr-olds had their eyes covered, curling up to me the whole last half of the film. But like I said, my children are happy, pleasant, kind children who wouldn't want to hurt anyone. They both had 2 bad dreams that my husband and I had button eyes within 2 weeks of seeing it, and my 4y/o has strongly requested multiple times to never see it again. I reassured her we won't. I'm surprised at how many children enjoyed this movie. I agree with missbunhead that this could be because of neglectful parents with little real morals. For those reading reviews from others who rated this movie as good, take a look at some of their usernames.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
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Parent of a 8 year old Written byrienovo March 20, 2009
age 8+

8 is too young.

Very good movie, but I would agree with other viewers that it is too scary for children 8 and under. I thought our 8 y/o daughter would be ok, as she has seen other scary movies such as Narnia and Harry Potter, but this is way creepier. She spent the last half of the movie in her father's lap. And we didn't even see it in 3D! So much for animation being less scary! I wish I had read the reviews before going!
What other families should know
Too much violence
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